Lorenzo fastest at rained-out Catalunya visit

Jorge Lorenzo was the fastest rider of the day as a large number of 2-stroke teams embarked on a short test in Catalunya today.

Jorge Lorenzo was the fastest rider of the day as a large number of 2-stroke teams embarked on a short test in Catalunya today.

The Spain's No1 Aprilia rider clocked a time of 1'48.0 at a session hit by rain shortly after 2pm, and debuted his new chassis at the Spanish track. The winged "1" on the front of his 2007 bike accompanied the gold boots, gloves and helmet worn by the reigning quarter litre World Champion.
Another reigning champion, this time from 125cc, was hot on Lorenzo's heels. Alvaro Bautista was just 2 tenths of a second off his rival's time on the unofficial timesheets, and joined team-mate and third placing Alex de Angelis as one of the few riders to take to the track once the rain came pouring down. Hector Barbera, Roberto Locatelli and Julian Simon completed the top six.
The first rider on track this morning, Alex Debon was also one of the last to leave, helping test the newest version of Lorenzo's factory Aprilia. The Spaniard could also be seen passing on his advice to young riders such as Pol Espargaro during the few moments he wasn't on track, and they could do worse than to pay heed to the words of wisdom of one of 250cc's best development riders. He, along with Lorenzo, heads to Almeria next week for more testing, electing against a return to Valencia opted for by the majority of the other teams.
Eugene Laverty's first appearance on track was literally dampened by the appearance of rain, as the Northern Irish rider could only ride a mere 15 laps of the Circuit de Catalunya. Times for the LCR Honda rider, accompanied by Team Manager Lucio Cecchinello and Ramon Forcada at the test, were unavailable due to his willingness to return to the track after most had called off their first day of testing.
Catalunya Test:250cc
Day One Unofficial TimesJorge Lorenzo (Fortuna Aprilia) - 1'48.0Alvaro Bautista (Master MVA Aspar) - 1'48.2Alex De Angelis (Master MVA Aspar) - 1'48.4Hector Barbera (Team Toth Aprilia) - 1'48.6Roberto Locatelli (Squadra Metis Gilera) - 1'49.0Julian Simon (Repsol Honda) - 1'49.05Andrea Dovizioso (Humangest Racing) - 1'49.3Thomas Lüthi (Emmi Caffe Latte) - 1'49.5Marco Simoncelli (Squadra Metis Gilera) - 1'49.5Shuhei Aoyama (Repsol Honda) - 1'49.73Alex Debon (Fortuna Aprilia) - 1'50.4Alex Baldolini (Kiefer Bos Sotin Racing) - 1'50.5Imre Toth (Team Toth Aprilia) - 1'51.0